


A Little Bit Longer

by The Loneliest Bird (ShintheCat)



Category: Terminator (Movies), Terminator - All Media Types, Terminator: Dark Fate
Genre: Cockblocking, F/F, First Kiss, Lots of kissing, Missing Scene, another fluff story, dani is shy, grace is an awkward gay, sarah being sarah, this takes place in dani's uncle's house
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21682795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShintheCat/pseuds/The%20Loneliest%20Bird
Summary: At Dani's uncle's, Dani asks Grace for a dance. Grace refuses because she doesn't know how, and Dani shows her instead. One thing leads to another. Read to find out!Song: This Never Happened Before by Paul McCartney.Lyrics in bold italic.
Relationships: Grace/Dani Ramos
Comments: 10
Kudos: 139





	A Little Bit Longer

She frowns slightly as the taste of the drink settles itself in her mouth. Looking at her bottle of Corona, Grace notices a wedge of lime inside. She stares, wondering why there is a piece of lime in her bottle in the first place. In her future, people didn’t get to have such luxury to drink together, much less alcohol. Food and drink were scarce, and beer and wine were considered exotic stuff and only saved for special occasions. Grace did try a beer before, when she was seventeen or so. A guy in her squadron found a pack of Coors Light in one looting mission and decided not to tell their Captain. Grace was on board with that. She felt like she and her comrades deserved such simple joy in that ruin of a world. A bit of alcohol that night indeed cheered them up for what was to come the next few days. 

Grace shakes the memory off of her mind. Thinking about it now will just bring her sadness and depression. She misses her best friend who happened to fought alongside her; she misses her instructor, a grumpy and sarcastic old woman; and she misses  _ her,  _ a lot. It hurts to think about them sometimes, but she now has more important stuff to worry about. She has a mission that she cannot fail. 

A bout of giggles catches her attention, and when she turns to the source, Grace finds two girls standing not far from where she’s sitting, talking and laughing together. Unfortunately, their laughing stock seems to be Grace herself because the girls are still openly staring at her despite Grace giving them a questioning look. Their giggling annoys Grace, so she turns her head back down, focusing on her meal again. (her third dish for the night, she thinks)

She thinks she knows why they’re laughing at her, though. Now to be fair, Grace does like the flannel and T-shirt she’s wearing. They’re very comfortable and fit her perfectly, and she admits it feels nice to have something clean to wear other than that dirty tank top and ripped jeans she stole from that man. But Grace strongly disapproves of the pair of shorts she was forced to put on. They’re Dad shorts, for crying out loud! And she strongly believes that this is why those girls are laughing at her. She looks ridiculous in these pants! 

Grace insisted on wearing her old clothes, but Dani being Dani again, didn’t want none of that. She even threatened that if Grace doesn’t let her throw away such garbage, Dani will not leave her uncle’s house, ever! (Dani’s uncle seemed thrilled to hear that). Grace knows she will never win a single battle against Dani. Of course, she will try to fight for it a little, but in the end people know Dani always gets what she wants. 

Talk about Dani, Grace has been keeping an eye on her all night. She may look like she’s only focused on eating her food, but Grace never lets Dani out of her vision. Right now, she’s standing a few feet away, grilling the meat and talking to her aunt. Grace isn’t happy about this ‘meeting’ at all. If she had known that Dani’s uncle’s family-gathering would involve this many people, she wouldn’t have let it happen. It is unwise for Dani to expose herself like this to so many people. In Grace’s experience, words travel fast. What if the Rev-9 heard about this from one of her so-called cousins? He could get here as fast as a rocket, and he would kill them all. Everyone in this place would be dead. Dani would-

Grace stops the thought. She needs to focus on protecting Dani, and to do that, she’s got to stop thinking about what-ifs. She focuses her attention to Dani again. She’s wearing a simple white dress with floral pattern on the hem. She looks beautiful, as always. 

There’s just something about the way she looks tonight that gives Grace a weird knot in her stomach. Grace isn’t used to seeing Dani relaxed and carefree like this. The Dani in the future was always alarmed, her posture was always tense, her face was hardened, and her eyes were always searching, scanning the surroundings. But Dani of the moment is completely different. She smiles, she laughs, she hugs people, she even jokes around. And it’s just fascinating to Grace. Dani has just lost her father and brother in one day, and here she is, already letting people in. Grace can’t never do it. She’s not that strong. When she lost her family, she changed. She became this vengeful and ugly person. For a while, years perhaps, Grace was ruthless. The only thing she cared about was to find food and survive, and she didn’t shy away from hurting people to get what she needed. She’s not proud of herself thinking about those years. It was her darkest secret that she had never let anyone in on. Except for one, though. 

Grace stops stuffing food in her mouth when she senses Dani walking toward her. She gives Dani a smile as the smaller woman sits down next to her. 

“I see you’re enjoying your food a lot,” says Dani, smiling.

“It’s great,” Grace says, rather curtly, and then resumes chewing. She doesn’t mean to. She just doesn’t know what else to say. 

Grace can feel Dani watching her closely, as if she’s trying to read Grace’s mind.

“Are you still upset about your jeans?” says Dani. She crosses her legs and leans on the table.

_ I’m not upset. I’m just nervous.  _ Grace thought to herself. She turns to meet Dani’s eyes, and there’s this amused look, quite familiar to Grace. She has seen this look before. Dani in the future gave her this stare whenever she did something stupid. It annoyed her to no end, being viewed as a child that is. Grace thinks that right now, Dani wants to mess with her, teasing her about her pants dilemma. Well, two can play this game, so why not? Grace can be playful, and from her past experience, people loved it.

“Maybe,“ says Grace, looking away, trying hard to convince Dani that she’s really upset.

“Oh, come on,” Dani laughs, “these are not so bad. You look great!” 

“No, I look dumb.”

“Nonsense!” Dani exclaims. “Well, if your legs weren’t so long, you would have fit in my cousin’s trousers.”

“Or I could just keep my old clothes,” Grace mumbles matter-of-factly. She stuffs her mouth with another big piece of steak.

“Oh, no. No. No, and a hard No,” says Dani, her eyes widen. “They’re dirty, Grace, and beyond repaired! And they smelled really bad, you know?”

“Doesn’t matter. They covered what needed to be covered.”

Grace tries her best not to laugh as she watches Dani’s jaw drop. 

“Unbelievable,” Dani laughs, shaking her head. “Okay, fine. I’ll go shopping for new clothes tomorrow.”

“You’re not thinking about going alone, are you?” says Grace, turning serious now.

“Of course not. You’ll come with us. I don’t know your size.”

“Us?” 

“Sarah. You both need new clothes. We can’t just walk around in tactical vests all day,” says Dani, picking up Grace’s beer and taking a gulp directly from the bottle. Grace is surprised. 

“I mean...I guess you’re right, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to walk around in public places. There are certainly cameras in the store…” Grace tries to explain. She’s not so sure if it’s a good idea to play this game with Dani anymore.

“I know, Grace. We thought about that. I’ll wear a hat, and Sarah agreed to let me borrow her sunglasses,” says Dani, and as if to reassure Grace, she puts her hand on Grace’s thigh and squeezes, “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

Dani retracts her hand when Grace stares at it, and Grace wishes she didn’t. Dani’s hand on her thigh, though only for a moment, gave Grace a jolt of unknown feelings. She felt it on the train, when Dani tried to comfort her by putting her hand on her knee, and just now she felt it again. It’s an unfamiliar territory for Grace, one she doesn’t understand just yet. But it’s exciting. It makes her heart flip. 

“Okay,” Grace replies, swallowing her food audibly. 

The giggles from those girls starts again, and this time Dani hears it, too. Dani looks at them and frowns, and the next thing she does surprises Grace. She stands up and walks to the girls. She says something to them Grace can’t make out, but the girls stop laughing and, dare she say, they look guilty. As Dani turns to walk back to Grace, the girls leave the scene. 

“I’m sorry. My cousins are still young and very childish. They seem to take an interest in you,” Dani sighs, clearly annoyed and embarrassed. “But that doesn’t give them the right to ogle you like that.”

“With what I’m wearing right now, I won’t blame them,” Grace chuckles, gesturing to her shorts to make her point. “And the fact that I’m white doesn’t help either.”

Dani suddenly gives her a very strange look, like she has grown a second head on her neck. She then drops her gaze and laughs quietly, shaking her head. Okay, this is weird. Why is she laughing like that?

“What?” Grace has to ask.

Dani looks up at her, and this look in her eyes speaks volume to Grace. Grace knows this. Future Dani looked at her like this before. This look of playful surrender, this look of botherline affection reserved only for a clueless Grace. If Grace wasn’t so busy losing herself in those gorgeous brown eyes, she would have questioned what kind of stupid thing she said this time.

“You have no idea how these things work, don’t you?”

“What things?” Grace is confused.

“Oh, you know? Flirting and stuff,” says Dani, absentmindedly playing with Grace’s beer bottle. 

“Oh…” Grace is feeling quite stupid right now. Anymore than this and she’ll match her outfit. 

“You don’t,” Dani concludes quietly. 

“Wait, you mean the girls...they were...”

“I’m sure they’re interested in you  _ that  _ way,” Dani giggles. She takes another sip of Grace’s beer, and another. 

“I’m not exactly familiar with these things. I didn’t have time for romance, you see…” says Grace, scratching her head. Future Dani always teased her about this habit of hers, how she scratches her head when she’s nervous or embarrassed. 

“I know, Grace,” says Dani, her eyes soften. Then, she reaches a hand out to Grace’s face. “You got something on your- there, gone,” she smiles as she wipes away something that’s supposed to be on Grace’s face. 

Grace can feel her face grow warm as Dani’s fingers linger on her chin. The touch feels good, and Grace suddenly wants it to be more. More of what she’s not sure, she just doesn’t want Dani to stop. But Dani stops anyway, much to Grace’s disappointment. She drops her hand and turns away, sighing. Her exposed shoulders shakes a little. 

Grace is a bit proud of herself that she knows what to do next. She takes off her flannel and drapes it over Dani’s shoulders. The night air has turned chilly. “You want to go inside?” She asks.

“I want to sit out here for a little longer. This is my grandma’s garden,” Dani muses. Her eyes sparkle and her skin seems to be glowing under the hanging lights. “I used to play out here with Diego. We stayed late into the night playing Magic,” she continues, a tinge of sadness in her voice. 

Grace thinks Dani is absolutely and breathtakingly beautiful even when she’s sad. 

“Oh, I love this song,” Dani says quietly, regarding the song playing on her uncle’s radio. “Do you know it?” 

Grace listens for a bit but decides she has no clue what the song is. Music is another scarce thing in her future. And she doesn’t recall the fond memories before Judgement Day. No. Grace doesn’t remember anything about her childhood. Terrifyingly, she’s starting to forget her mom and dad’s faces. “I don’t know. Sorry…”

“Don’t be,” Dani says then sways her body gently to the music.

It’s a very nice song, Grace thinks. Slow and tender. It’s about love and acknowledging it. Grace can understand why Dani loves it now. Dani is an expressive person. She’s not afraid to voice her thoughts and feelings, and this song is basically all about expressing and embracing love as it is. 

“Wanna dance?” Dani suddenly turns to her.

This takes Grace off guard. “Together? No. I’ll pass,” Grace laughs nervously, feeling awkward. One thing that she is embarrassed to admit is that she can’t dance. 

“Oh, okay. Sorry I asked...”

The disappointment is evident in Dani’s face, and she also looks embarrassed. Grace can’t let this happen. She needs to explain herself. Quick!

“It’s not you, Dani. It’s just...I don’t know how to dance.”

There, she said it. Grace is sure Dani will laugh at her. A super soldier from the future, who can see in the dark like Batman and beat up bad guys like they’re made of paper, cannot dance at all. Yeah, that isn’t something Grace wants people to know. 

Grace waits for the laugh, but it never comes. Instead, Dani looks her in the eyes, smiling gently at her. “I’ll show you. Come on,” she says, standing up and pulling Grace along. 

Grace can never win against Dani, she knows that. She lets Dani pull her to the corner of the garden, away from people’s hearing and seeing range. They stand facing each other. Dani takes a step closer. She interlocks one hand with Grace’s and guides Grace’s other hand to her waist. Grace is certain she looks a mess right now. The feel of Dani’s small waist in her hand does something funny to her belly. 

“Since you’re taller, you should lead,” says Dani quietly, waiting patiently for Grace.

“I...I don’t know how to…” Grace blushes, feeling so useless all of a sudden.

“Here,” says Dani, and she slowly sways them to the music.

Grace struggles to move with Dani. She doesn’t think she has ever done anything more difficult in her life. Fighting a Rev-9 sounds like a better idea right now, to be honest. At least it’s what she’s good at, fighting that is. But this, this is so new to her. Grace feels intimidated. She tries so hard not to step on Dani’s feet. With her metal skeleton, she can seriously injure Dani if she’s not careful.

“Grace, stop staring at your feet,” Dani chides affectionately, “Look at me.”

Simple words, yet they carry authority, one Grace can’t help but obey. She moves her eyes to meet Dani’s and almost feels like drowning. Dani’s hazel eyes shines bright in the night. The light above them reflects in her eyes, dancing animatedly as Dani gazes at her. So clear. So full. Grace can see herself in Dani’s eyes. And just like that, Grace’s body moves the way it’s supposed to move, completely on auto-pilot. It’s like she has done this before. She just now remembers how. 

Dani seems to notice it, too. “That’s it, Grace. You’re feeling it,” she says, laughing. 

**_I’m very sure,_ **

**_This never happened to me before._ **

**_I met you and now I’m sure,_ **

**_This never happened before._ **

Grace listens to the lyrics. It’s true. This never happened to her before. This profound feeling she has just discovered. Has it always been there, laying dormant in her heart? And now it’s so happened that Dani comes in and awakens it. 

Dani has now moved her hand around her neck, pulling her down. She rests her head on Grace’s chest and snuggles closer to her. Grace isn’t afraid anymore. She tightens her hold on Dani, pressing their bodies together. Placing her head on top of Dani’s, Grace buries her nose in Dani’s wavy hair, breathing in her unique scent. If heaven really does exist, Grace wonders if it ever feels like this.

**_So come to me,_ **

**_Now we can be what we wanna be._ **

**_I love you and now I see,_ **

**_This is the way it should be._ **

Dani moves again. She looks up, eyes searching Grace’s. She’s asking for something. Grace knows by the way she stands on the tip of her toes, and the way she breaks their handlock to circle her arm around Grace’s shoulders. She runs her fingers through Grace’s hair, slowly, and her head now comes to rest next to Grace’s ear. Grace bends down, as much as she can, to embrace Dani’s small form. She places the lightest touch of a kiss on Dani’s temple, reveling in the soft sighs coming from Dani’s lips. 

“Dani…” Grace calls. Her name sounds like a prayer on her tongue. “I want to kiss you.”

Dani pulls just a hair away to gaze at her. It’s so intense and full of emotions Grace feels like she’s burning alive. She needs to kiss her, so badly. She needs to feel Dani’s lips on hers.

“Then kiss me,” Dani whispers. Her breath brushes Grace’s lips. 

Grace doesn’t let them wait any longer. She leans down and captures Dani’s lips. She wants to cry at the impact. She has never felt so happy and emotional at the same time. She feels like she’s finally at home, finally fulfils her destiny. And when Dani moves her lips against hers, sucking shyly as though she’s experimenting, Grace knows her heart belongs to this woman. It has always been this way. Grace has always been in love with her. 

Grace kisses Dani harder, more demanding, and her heart jumps when Dani opens her mouth. Grace dives in, using her tongue this time. She can hear Dani’s muffled moans through the kiss, soft and needy. It ignites something inside Grace, something raw and unfiltered. It fuels her desire to kiss every inch of Dani’s body. 

“Grace…” Dani moans, breathing heavily. 

“Yes?” says Grace, waiting for Dani to finish.

“I...I want…” biting her lip, Dani locks eyes with Grace. She is silently asking Grace something again, and Grace thinks she knows what Dani wants. She just needs to hear her say it.

“What do you want, Dani?” Grace asks. She holds Dani’s hands in her and kisses her knuckles, one by one.

“I want you,” Dani’s answer is firm, without hesitation, without doubt. 

Grace smiles. “I want you, too. So much,” she murmurs as she kisses Dani’s forehead. 

“Kiss me again, Grace,” says Dani, breathless. She pulls at Grace’s shirt, tugging her down until their lips meet again. 

Grace loses herself in their embrace. Nothing seems to matter to her anymore. This is where she’s meant to be, to hold Dani and kiss her like there’s no tomorrow. Time doesn’t register in her mind anymore. Grace is just lost, lost in this sweetest reality. She can’t tell where one begins and the other ends. It’s just Dani in her arms right now, Dani wanting her. That’s enough for Grace. 

A loud cough from behind startles them, and Dani breaks their kiss immediately. She jumps away from Grace, flustered as she turns around. “Oh my God, Sarah. You scared me to death!”

Sarah regards them both quietly for a moment. Grace doesn’t know why the old woman’s stare bothers her. It feels as though she’s staring right through Grace’s soul. 

“I’m not gonna talk about what I just saw,” Sarah grumbles, “Party’s over. You kids need to go to bed. We got a lot to do tomorrow.”

“Ah, yes of course,” says Dani, still breathless apparently. She grabs Grace’s hand and pulls her toward the house.

“Nope. You’re not staying in the same room,” says Sarah as she side-steps Dani and Grace, blocking their path. “You two need sleep. And I’m pretty sure if I let you punks be together tonight, you won’t get any sleep at all,” Sarah lights her cigarette as she speaks. 

“And why the hell do I have to follow your order?” Grace says, feeling her jaws tighten. This old hag is always so annoying. 

“Because she’s right, Grace,” says Dani, turning to face her with an apologetic look. “We need a full rest.” her eyes once again speak volume to Grace. Grace just simply cannot disobey. Dani’s wish is her command. 

“Okay,” Grace says curtly, glaring at Sarah to make a point. She wants her to know she only agrees to this because of Dani. 

Inside the house, Dani hands Grace her pillow and blanket, a look of guilt in her eyes. “Sorry about this, Grace. But the couch isn’t that bad, I promise. I’ve slept on it before,” she tries to make it sound exciting but knows she’s failing.

“It’s totally okay, Dani. I’ve slept in much worse condition,” Grace smiles, taking the bundle from Dani. Dani’s uncle’s house only has one guest bedroom, so Dani and Sarah are going to share it tonight. Grace will sleep on the couch in the living room. That’s Sarah’s arrangement.

“Well, good night, Grace,” says Dani, lingering by the couch, not wanting to leave.

Grace decides that she won’t run away anymore. She steps closer to Dani and pulls her in for a hug. Cupping Dani’s face in her palms, she leans down and plants a chaste kiss on Dani’s soft lips. Even though she wants to deepen their kiss, wants to trail her lips down her delicate neck, Grace needs to let her go. She has just realized it tonight - She loves Dani more than anything and anyone in the world. That’s why she needs to protect her, even at the cost of her own life. She needs to keep Dani safe, not for the world, not for humanity, but for her own sake. She’s selfish, yes, but if living in a world without Dani, then she doesn’t want to live.

“Good night, Dani,” Grace murmurs in Dani’s hair, squeezing her arms around her. Maybe she can hold Dani a little longer. 

Just a little bit longer.

End. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Oh, and don't forget to throw me a bone by commenting. On to my next GracexDani fic now. See ya!


End file.
